Gladbach director reveals conditions under which club would sell Manu Kone
Borussia Monchengladbach chief Roland Virkus has played down talk of Liverpool target Manu Kone leaving the club, saying it would take an 'immense offer' to force a sale.
22-year-old Kone was among the names in the frame to be part of the Reds' midfield rebuild this summer, with the fact that Jorg Schmadtke's son, Nils, works at Gladbach only serving to fuel speculation. However, a knee injury suffered during Kone's time with France at the Under-21 Euros saw much of the transfer speculation dissipate.
Instead, Liverpool made bids for Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo before landing Wataru Endo for around £16m.
There is still plenty of money in the bank, if the Caicedo bid is anything to by, and reports suggest the Reds are reportedly still in the market for one more 'multi-functional' midfielder.
Ryan Gravenberch, Andre Trinaded and Cheick Doucoure have been linked, but there have also been suggestions that Liverpool could revisit their interest in Kone.
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If they do, they will need to make an 'immense offer' according to Gladbach's managing director for sport, Virkus, who told reporters in Germany that Gladbach do not want to sell and don't need the money either.
“We don't have to sell him," Virkus told Bild. "But it was always like this: if there is another immense offer, then we have to think about it. But that's not the plan. Our plan is to keep Kone.
"Kone is a player who has something different, he gives you as a team a better balance in midfield. He's coming back after the international break and he's very important to us, a tough and intelligent footballer. We need stability in this position.”
There is no indication of what kind of offer would bring Gladbach to the table. Earlier reports in the summer suggested a valuation of around £30m, though that may now not be enough.